Stewart Prest
@stewartprest.ca
Recalcitrant Canadian. Political scientist at UBC in Vancouver. I research, teach and talk international relations, BCpoli, comparative democratic institutions, and contentious politics. stewartprest.ca | https://stewartprest.substack.com
One last word on this: there is research on the specific contributions such offices make, by UBC grad Elizabeth Schwartz. Cities are better able to enact green policies when they have independent staff focused on the problem of sustainability. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Developing Green Cities: Explaining Variation in Canadian Green Building Policies | Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique | Cambridge Core
Developing Green Cities: Explaining Variation in Canadian Green Building Policies - Volume 49 Issue 4
www.cambridge.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:01 PM
One last word on this: there is research on the specific contributions such offices make, by UBC grad Elizabeth Schwartz. Cities are better able to enact green policies when they have independent staff focused on the problem of sustainability. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Given the mayor's choices, you could easily conclude he's more interested in preserving the Stanley Park Railway than park itself.
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Given the mayor's choices, you could easily conclude he's more interested in preserving the Stanley Park Railway than park itself.
Like, if you really don't like a place, maybe let someone else run it?
November 11, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Like, if you really don't like a place, maybe let someone else run it?
Decisions like this make me wonder why Sim wanted to be mayor of Vancouver.
November 11, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Decisions like this make me wonder why Sim wanted to be mayor of Vancouver.
Best of luck with the next chapter!
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Best of luck with the next chapter!
Reposted by Stewart Prest
It says much about a society that is willing to profit from a group's labour, but unwilling provide them same dignity and support accorded to others.
November 9, 2025 at 10:29 PM
It says much about a society that is willing to profit from a group's labour, but unwilling provide them same dignity and support accorded to others.
Start from a framework of self government and it gets a little clearer. Each society governs itself. There is much risk in telling others what to do, even if well-intentioned (and often it's not). We have a duty to help others, but not govern them.
November 10, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Start from a framework of self government and it gets a little clearer. Each society governs itself. There is much risk in telling others what to do, even if well-intentioned (and often it's not). We have a duty to help others, but not govern them.
This is a good question. I think we do have a moral obligation here as well, but it is expressed differently, owing to the fact that they live in a community subject to its own self-government. Thus, solutions here might be to support fair trade, foreign aid, etc. bsky.app/profile/sqc....
To the extent that we trade outside our country, we welcome the labour of a large fraction of the world's population. Do you think we should give all those people citizenship, or do you think it's morally relevant that those people perform the labour outside of Canada's borders?
November 9, 2025 at 10:54 PM
This is a good question. I think we do have a moral obligation here as well, but it is expressed differently, owing to the fact that they live in a community subject to its own self-government. Thus, solutions here might be to support fair trade, foreign aid, etc. bsky.app/profile/sqc....
Indeed, if it were up to me, I would do away with the idea of temporary immigration altogether. If we welcome someone's labour, we ought to welcome the person attached to it. bsky.app/profile/mehl...
This is Canada's temporary foreign worker system in a nutshell. But making temporary residents pay more for health care really drives the sentiment home.
It says much about a society that is willing to profit from a group's labour, but unwilling provide them same dignity and support accorded to others.
November 9, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Indeed, if it were up to me, I would do away with the idea of temporary immigration altogether. If we welcome someone's labour, we ought to welcome the person attached to it. bsky.app/profile/mehl...
It is a complex issue, no doubt, made more so by the tension created by the division of responsibilities among provinces and the federal government.
Ultimately, though, democracies enter perilous territory as soon as we start excluding segments of the population from the social contract.
Ultimately, though, democracies enter perilous territory as soon as we start excluding segments of the population from the social contract.
November 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
It is a complex issue, no doubt, made more so by the tension created by the division of responsibilities among provinces and the federal government.
Ultimately, though, democracies enter perilous territory as soon as we start excluding segments of the population from the social contract.
Ultimately, though, democracies enter perilous territory as soon as we start excluding segments of the population from the social contract.
It says much about a society that is willing to profit from a group's labour, but unwilling provide them same dignity and support accorded to others.
November 9, 2025 at 10:29 PM
It says much about a society that is willing to profit from a group's labour, but unwilling provide them same dignity and support accorded to others.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
“People should care about this thing more” and “the media never reported on this thing” are two different ideas that people often use interchangeably, but framing matters!
One incentivizes curiousity and passion about a subject, the other incentivizes getting angry at “the media” on a false premise
One incentivizes curiousity and passion about a subject, the other incentivizes getting angry at “the media” on a false premise
November 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
“People should care about this thing more” and “the media never reported on this thing” are two different ideas that people often use interchangeably, but framing matters!
One incentivizes curiousity and passion about a subject, the other incentivizes getting angry at “the media” on a false premise
One incentivizes curiousity and passion about a subject, the other incentivizes getting angry at “the media” on a false premise